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The E-Sylum: Volume 12, Number 25, June 21, 2009, Article 3

NEW SECTIONS AND UPGRADED PHOTOS FEATURED IN 2010 RED BOOK

Dennis Tucker forwarded this release about the changes in the new 2010 edition of Whitman's Red Book. At my request he also included a closeup of the 1875 Dot Reverse cent. -Editor


Dennis adds:
I wanted to call it the "1875, Sticky Fingers Reverse," but nobody went along with me!
2010_Redbook The 2010 (63rd) edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins (known to collectors as the “Red Book”) includes many new features, plus dozens of additions to the book’s 1,800-plus color photographs.

“One of the most exciting sections is a new appendix on Significant U.S. Mint Errors,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. Its text and photographs were contributed by specialists Nicholas P. Brown, David J. Camire, and Fred Weinberg. The new appendix gives a history of mint errors, and illustrates rare and valuable misstrikes and errors including a 1943 steel cent struck over a Mercury dime; an 1863 capped-die Indian Head cent; a 1906 Indian Head cent struck on a $2.50 gold planchet; a 1904 Lewis and Clark gold dollar with a reverse brockage; a Peace dollar struck on a blank quarter planchet; a Bicentennial quarter double strike; a Lincoln cent struck off-center on a Roosevelt dime; the famous bronze 1943 cent; a 2000 Sacagawea dollar muled to a Washington quarter; and other rare oddities worth $2,500 to $150,000 or more.

In the book’s introduction, the “Coins From Treasures and Hoards” section includes a new essay on the SS New York, a passenger ship lost in September 1846 and recovered in 2007 along with thousands of gold and silver coins.

In the “Pre-Federal Issues” section, readers will find dozens of upgraded photographs of colonial and early American coins and tokens, as well as newly added variety photos. “The results are impressive,” said the book’s longtime editor, Kenneth Bressett. “Compare a 2009 edition to the new 2010 edition; it’s like seeing our colonial history with new eyes.”

More closeup photographs of varieties have also been added to the federal coinage sections, including half cents, Indian Head cents, Lincoln cents, and Buffalo nickels. In the back, more Civil War tokens are pictured.

1875 Indian Cent dot rev detail “The 1875, Dot Reverse, Indian Head cent is an interesting addition,” said research editor Q. David Bowers. “It’s believed to have been struck to help catch a Mint employee suspected of stealing coins.” Enlargements of Variety 1 and Variety 2 of the 1886 Indian Head cent are among several other varieties pictured for the first time.

New content has been added to cover the 2009 Lincoln cent designs, the Native American “Three Sisters” dollar, the DC/Territorial quarters, and the upcoming 2010 National Parks quarters. In the Bullion section, new information has been added about the “burnished” Uncirculated coinage, as well as the expanded American Buffalo gold program and the 2009 Ultra High Relief gold coin. The year’s new commemorative coins and sets are also studied.

Throughout the 2010 edition, record-setting auction results have been updated for significant coins, with many 2008 and 2009 records listed among early copper, silver, and gold.

In addition to the 2010 Red Book’s nearly 40,000 individual coin prices in up to nine grades per series, Appendix E showcases the Top 250 Auction Prices for U.S. coins. “We’ve tracked auctions through early 2009,” said valuations editor Jeff Garrett, who noted an increase of $35,000 compared to the 2009 edition’s list. “Last year’s 250-ranked coin sold for $310,000,” Garrett said. “To make it onto this year’s list, the 250-ranked coin (a 1776 Continental dollar) sold for $345,000.”

Appendix C, “Collectible Red and Blue Books,” has been expanded with more details, including how to precisely identify the Blue Book’s early editions of the 1940s and 1950s. Coverage of recent collectible Red Books includes the leather-bound Limited Editions, the 2009 Journal Edition, and the rare 2008 Numismatic Literary Guild variety (valued at $800, with only 135 made).

The Red Book’s numismatic bibliography continues to be updated with current literature. Its 125 listings include more than a dozen references published in 2008 and 2009.



Wayne Homren, Editor

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